We have ourselves a latent discovery that’s currently “under investigation” – do Manderin fish in Yap have a unique color pattern?

This was first noticed by a guest of ours, Michele, who has photos of Manderin fish from all over the world including other Micronesian islands. Her own curiosity of her photos lead her to Australian PhD and head fishologist, Dr. Gerry Allen.

In an email response, Dr. Allen said: “Indeed, something is not right as far as that Yap fish is concerned. I’ve never seen this species with the “reversed” colour pattern. I can only conclude that it is a rare colour variant. ”

Michele asked the dive staff to be on the lookout for the reversed color pattern Yap Manderin fish. For those of you who have been here and went on one of the nightly Manderin fish mating dives, check your photo collection to see if you have shots of the backwards Yap color variety of mating Manderin fish.

Dr. Allen is a past President of the Australian Society for Fish Biology, an honorary foreign member of the American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology, and a recent recipient of the prestigious K. Radway Allen Award for Outstanding Contributions to Australian Ichthyological Science. Gerald R. Allen is the author of:

– Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
– Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific